If Tom Petty had it right and there was a last DJ, a maverick of the airwaves who did it all his way, then Seattle’s Marco Collins may very well have been that guy. Collins, who worked for Seattle’s KNDD “The End” during the 1990s, just as grunge was coming into vogue, championed local music, dedicating an entire show, The Young and the Restless, to the sounds of Seattle. He broke Beck, Foo Fighters and brought Weezer, Death Cab For Cutie and a handful of others to wider attention.
Collins’ time in and away from the spotlight is documented in the film The Glamour & The Squalor. Accompanying the motion picture is a soundtrack featuring original music from Mike McCready plus in-studio performances by Garbage, Nada Surf and Mudhoney. The last band gives provides a harrowing, in-the-moment live-on-the-air rendition of “What to Do with the Neutral”, which you can hear below.
The film, which has been making the festival rounds since 2015 is now available on streaming services (including the official Glamour & Squalor website). The soundtrack album is available digitally November 3 via Lakeshore Records (a physical release hits December 1) while McCready’s score has been available since September.